11:11am | A unique traveling exhibit of Holocaust education called “The Courage To Remember” will open on September 19 at 3:00pm at California State University Long Beach Main Library on the 3rd floor. The exhibit is free to the public. The exhibit will remain on display until October 16.
Speaking at the ceremony will be a gathering of civic, business, political religious and community leaders including Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, Rabbi Adlerstein from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Holocaust survivor Gerda Seifer.
“We are delighted and honored to open ‘The Courage To Remember’ at California State University Long Beach,” said Dr. Alfred Balitzer, Chairman of the Foundation. “The lesson of the Holocaust ties together the past to the present, teaching the dangerous and destructive impacts of ignorance, hate and intolerance on individuals, communities and nations. In our culturally diverse state, this exhibit is not a luxury, it is a necessity.”
The traveling exhibit is based on the internationally acclaimed “Courage to Remember” Holocaust exhibit of the Museum of Tolerance, the educational arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The Foundation first made the traveling exhibit available to California communities in 1991. Two decades later its message is still relevant. “The timeless message of ‘never forget’ provides a link between generations, using history to empower each generation to resist ignorance and stand up for what is right,” stated Rodney Wilson, a member of the Foundation’s Board.
Three identical versions of this exhibit will travel throughout California over the next twelve months, appearing in libraries, schools, community centers and in other public venues as a result of a grant to the Foundation by SNCF. “It is so important that we remember and do not forget our past history so we do not repeat it,” said Denis Doute, CEO of SNCF of America. “That is why we are committed to Holocaust remembrance and have made this grant to the Foundation for California.”
“Two decades after we designed this exhibit, its lesson is still vital to peace at home and abroad,” stated Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. From time to time, Rabbi Cooper will appear with other spokespersons from the Museum of Tolerance to speak on the meaning of the Holocaust during the presentation of the exhibit.
Call (562) 961-5595 or log on for more information: www.CourageToRemember.com.